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BIN15 Productions, producers of the documentary "A Giant Awakens: the Rise of American Rugby," is providing vintage 1924 Olympic footage to NBC Sports for the USA Sevens Collegiate Championship Invitational which will be broadcast this Saturday and Sunday on NBC Sports from 4-6 p.m. ET and on Universal Sports from 2-4 p.m. ET. This footage captures one of the biggest upsets in sports history and provides the rally cry for USA to defend the gold medal in the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

1924 USA Olympic Rugby Gold Medal Team

From a media perpsective, this rarely seen vintage film from the 1924 Olympics is the Holy Grail of American Rugby.

Sausalito, CA (PRWEB)June 4, 2010

BIN15 Productions, producers of "A Giant Awakens: the Rise of American Rugby," will provide high definition video and photos, including vintage Olympic footage from 1924, to NBC Sports for its broadcast of the USA Sevens collegiate Championship Invitational this weekend. BIN15 Productions helped locate this footage in France in the spring of 2009.

The 1924 USA Olympic rugby team, mostly made up of collegiate amateurs from the University of California (Berkeley), Stanford University, and Santa Clara University, defeated the heavily favored European champions, France in the Olympic gold medal match in Paris in 1924. The USA Sevens Collegiate Championship Invitational will be broadcast this Saturday and Sunday on NBC Sports from 4-6 p.m. ET and on Universal Sports from 2-4 p.m. ET.

“From a media perspective, this rarely seen vintage film from the 1924 Olympics is the Holy Grail of American rugby,” claimed Sylvain Doreau, Director & Executive Producer of "A Giant Awakens: the Rise of American Rugby." “It’s very rare to find high quality film from the 1920’s. Helping uncover vintage gold medal Olympic footage for one of sports most incredible upsets significantly changed the scope and direction of this project. Having the opportunity to work with NBC Sports in conjunction with a high caliber event from USA Sevens, is a dream come true.”

“USA Sevens is pleased that this great American rugby footage was made available for the Inaugural Collegiate Championship by BIN15 Productions”, said Dan Lyle, Tournament Director, USA Sevens Rugby. “Collegiate athletics are the root of American sport and the ties between 1924 and today are now complete with Rugby’s re-inclusion to the Olympic Games – NBC are the leaders in the industry and the viewers will see the best of our past and present.”

Background

"A Giant Awakens: the Rise of American Rugby" (http://www.agiantawakens.com) explores the majestic history of American rugby and captures the essence, spirit, and challenges of the game in America today. This film showcases all levels of American rugby from youth to the USA national teams in this inspiring 60-minute high definition sports documentary by BIN15 Productions.

Directed and produced by award-winning filmmaker Sylvain Doreau, the journey begins in the late 1800's and runs through Olympic glory in the 1920's, including the separation from gridiron American football. The journey continues after rugby's 50-year near hibernation and participation in the Rugby World Cups. The finale addresses the new Olympic opportunity for rugby in 2016. This documentary contains the details of one of the biggest upsets in sports history and provides the rally cry for USA to defend the gold medal in the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

Uncovering Olympic History

Sylvain found a French rugby blogger and historian, Frederic Humbert, who has one of the most complete collections of rugby memorabilia (http://www.rugbypionneers.com). Sylvain sent Frederic an email requesting anything related to US rugby history. Frederic uncovered more than a dozen rare photos prints from the early days of American rugby. This fantastic collection included pre-WW1 photos of the collegiate finals with 35,000 American spectators at the game. Frederic also had a large collection of photos from the 1920 and 1924 Olympics and connected Sylvain with an Olympic historian, Pierre Vitalien, who wrote a book about Olympic rugby.

While the photos are amazing, "A Giant Awakens: the Rise of American Rugby" is a film and not a slide show. Somewhere, there had to be film from the 1924 Olympics. Frederic mentioned to Sylvain that he recently bought some old 8mm newsreels from 1924 at an auction that possibly included footage of the Olympic final. Sylvain immediately jumped on the opportunity and Frederic graciously printed and digitized the newsreels in a specialized lab in Paris.

About BIN 15 Productions

BIN15 Productions, producers of "A Giant Awakens: the Rise of American Rugby," is a production company that specializes in sports marketing and documentaries for film, television and digital distribution. Rugby is our passion and our goal is to become the "NFL Films of Rugby". In addition to creating and distributing rugby related programming, BIN15 provides consulting, sports marketing, and production services for broadcasters and the entertainment industry worldwide.

About USA Sevens

USA Sevens owns and operates America’s premier rugby event, the USA Sevens Rugby Tournament. Held annually, the event is one of the eight international stops in the IRB Sevens World Series. With an attendance of over 50,000 during the two day event, it is the largest annual rugby event in North America and one of the fastest growing rugby events in the world.